A great way to start the day on the Fourth of July. But then again, a great way to END the day on the Fourth of July.

In the Pancakes vs. Waffles debate, I stand firmly on the side of waffles. I mean, C’mon, all that crispy goodness of the waffle surfaces, just empty little squares waiting to be filled with butter and syrup. What’s better than that???

I have recently been making dessert waffles. There is one trick to making them with the perfect crispy crunch on the outside: sugar. Yes, just plain old regular sugar. You just sprinkle a tiny bit on the surface of your waffle iron right before spooning in the batter and – my oh my! – this adds the perfect sweet crust! Trust me on this one and just try it! Turns waffles into sweet crispy desserts!

I just got back from a visit to Colorado to spend a few days with family. Since I usually only get to visit over the winter holidays, I had forgotten just how hot it can get there: it was in the high 90’s and low 100’s the entire time. Now, it’s a dry heat, so I found it much more tolerable than it would have been if humidity were added to the mix, but still. 104 is still 104.

So I see delicious and gorgeous popsicle action popping up all over Pinterest and my Facebook feed. Check out this incredible cucumber honeydew margarita “poptail”, for just one example. I made it and can guarantee it is as gloriously refreshing as it looks. But I also wanted to make one of my own, with fruit, no dairy, and and no refined sugar, so I could enjoy with abandon. A frozen smoothie, really. Since next week is (already!) the 4th, why not run with the theme? …

What’s better than cookies or fruit tarts? Cookies that are morphed into fruit tarts.

These pretty little cookie tarts are super easy to make and so festive! Isn’t it nice of Mother Nature to give us Americans strawberries, raspberries and blueberries just in time to create red, white and blue desserts? God Bless Mother Nature as well as America!

I used sugar cookies from a bakery, but if you want to make your own, so much the better. If you’re feeling a little more ambitious, you could make our Five Minute Homemade Puff pastry. No, we are not making this up: it really does take only five minutes of prep time from scratch.

The cream cheese frosting recipe (below) I used is my favorite all-time frosting that I have made in 30 years. It is light, fluffy and so flavorful. It really shouldn’t be called “frosting,” it should be called “heavenly fluff.” I use almond extract so as not to muddy the color, and almond is a delicious flavor with most any other dessert ingredient. It’s used sparingly here – one of those background flavors that makes you say “Hmmmm . . . what’s in here???”